bokeh, red velvet, & a lil boo

i love the bokeh technique.
i guess i had been doing it for quite sometime but didn't realize it.
didn't realize it was called "bokeh" to be quite honest.
hey at least i'm telling the truth and not acting like i know everything.

here's some i'd like to share:

xmas day bokeh...

sissie bokeh (that's my sis Jo!)...

apple bokeh...

fruit bokeh (at my good friend's, Anh's place)...

eggroll & pork noodle bowl bokeh...

anh made this for me while i came to visit.
i hadn't had REAL vietnamese food in soooooo long!
and it...was...yumm-o!
gained a pound or 2 with almost 2 bowls of it.
it was worth it.

and i have to share this...
this was one of the best red velvet cakes i've ever had.
a very small slice of it.
and can you believe it was made for kfc (by cafe valley)????
well it was and it was divinely yumm-o!

i did not feel guilty either!

and my lil boo, maiya, is coming home tomorrow morning...

i can hardly wait!

yey-yah!

i haven't had a chance to scrap anything lately with the busy holidays.
i brought a scrapbook kit along with me here in lacey.
but i just haven't had a chance to use it.
i don't have any glue, so gotta buy some sometime soon.
i'm getting scrappy withdrawals.
hoping to share something someday before we go back to cali.
we'll see.

tgif!
have a fun one!

a lil circle of friends

...really good friends...
these galz are my besties for life and i love them so much..
jo (my sis), risa, and claire.

i was able to spend yesterday with them.
it was really nice to catch up and laugh.

thank you so much for your friendship, support, and love.

with claire (clarita!)...

with jo & risa...

with risa...

xoxo,
j

B....I....G........4-0!!!!

go shawty it's yo birthday!

yey-yah!

per Starbx....

currently spending this wonderful time of the year with family here in lacey, wa...

just wanted to say from our familia to yours...

happy holidays!
hope you have a fun and safe one.

love,
j, j, a, m, s, s

decked out

last xmas we really didn't do any xmas decor just b/c my hubby was deployed.
this xmas is different b/c he's home with us.
so...
we put up the tree and decked the living and dining area a bit.

wanna see?

warning:  photo heavy...heehee..

the living room...

the dining room...

3 more days til we head to WA to celebrate the holidays with family.
can hardly wait!
yey-yah!

gonna also be visiting a few friends that i haven't seen in a year or so.
yey-yah!

holidays are acomin'!

t...g...i...f!!!!!!!

a quickie post b/c my lil one is in her walker jeep crying her lungs out...
but hey that's one of the only ways i can have her in one spot while i'm doing a task...

a birthday card for my sis-in-law.
it was yesterday and gave her a quick call to say, "happy birthday!"

here's the card...

some of the deetz...

used an old amm kit for this one.
i don't usually do banners...
but decided to do one for this one b/c it just seemed to "fit."
punches, tone-on-tone.
my fave techz.

well gotta jet b/c lil one is getting impatient & wants my attention.

have a wonderful weekend!

be merry

a quick post because my 8 month old is in a very needy mood.

finally finished and mailed all the xmas cards to everyone we love & care about.
over 40 of them.
all done by my hands.
and maiya helped me seal all the envelopes.
such beautiful santa's helper.

i used tags from 7gypsies that had been stored away (for a LONG time).
then used some patterned papers from different amm & cocoa daisy kits.
crate paper, october afternoon, lily bee, my mind's eye pp's.
fiskars border punch and an inkadinkado stamp.
and there you go.

and for the final reveal....

be merry...

xoxo,
j

{ 8 months }

yey-yah!
she turned 8 months today.
and she's already hairstylin'.
check out the 2nd photo...
heehee...

she is now a full-time, fast-time crawler.
and has promoted to holding onto things to stand up.
i think she's gonna be an early walker.
o my!

working on a birthday card today.
and trying to finish off the xmas cards to get them mailed out next monday.

will share soon.

14 more days til travel time.
can hardly wait!

weeeehhhhh!!!

have a great weekend!

and here's sierra...

introducing a new family member of ours....

we found her at the antelope valley animal adoption center just yesterday, 12.4.2011.
she's a german shephard mix.
a lil over a year old.
and she's a healthy girl.
so far her temperment is pretty good.
she's a pretty good dog.
very smart.

i'm so happy she's a part of our family.
and she will be for a very long time.

"hi!  my name is sierra!"

where did we get the name?
we actually had to work at it and come to an agreement.
we came up with koda, koa, shelby, athena, tisa, etc.
but we just couldn't get a good grasp on a name.
then i said to my hubby...
"what about one of your fave beers?"
(because he loves beer).
he looked at me and said..."sierra!"
and me and maiya both agreed.

sierra...welcome home.

at this time, on this date

o my!
gotta share this one...finally!

here's the layout i've been wanting to post for awhile...
i used some american crafts pp and cardstock and letter stickers from my stash.
i've been wanting to use this pp for a long time but just couldn't figure out when and with what...
also used scraps and scraps from some cocoa daisy kits.
crate paper, echo park, jillibean soup, october afternoon, sassafras, etc.
did some tone-on-tone layering of some border punches and doodling.
spray inked here and there too.
also used a ribbon holder as a template for those yellow painted circles you see there.
so fun.

the photo was taken during my and my hubby'z trip in seattle for our 1st yr wedding anniversary.
that was back on 3/13/2010.
the picture was taken exactly at 1:36 p.m., thus the title.

okay, okay...
here it is with the lil dittiez...

a nice way to end the week.

tomorrow nite is date nite while our wonderful neighbors watch the girlz.
it's been too long since we've had one.
dinner & a movie.
can hardly wait!

have a great weekend!